Report: Johnson says double-amputee should not run in Olympics

July 17, 2012|Reuters

The Sports Xchange

Report: Johnson says double-amputee should not run in Olympics

Michael Johnson, who won four Olympic gold medals and still holds the world record in the 400 meters, told a London newspaper that double-amputee Oscar Pistorius should not run in the upcoming Olympics.

Pistorius is scheduled to represent South Africa in the 400 meters in the London Olympics and would become the first double-amputee to compete in the Olympics. Johnson said he should only run in the Paralympics.

Asked by the London Telegraph whether he thought Pistorius' inclusion was a matter of political correctness gone mad or an inspiring story, Johnson, 44, said, "I think it is both. I know Oscar well, and he knows my position; my position is that because we don't know for sure whether he gets an advantage from the prosthetics that he wears it is unfair to the able-bodied competitors.

"That is hard for a lot of people to take and to understand when you are talking about an athlete and an individual who has a disability.

"Because his personal best is 45 seconds [in the 400 meters] - and that is not enough to win medals - people generally will take the approach [that] he should be allowed to run, 'let him run, it's great.'

"The issue here, and how it has to be approached, is that it has to be approached not taking into account any particular athlete - so this has to not be about Oscar Pistorius.

"I consider Oscar a friend of mine, but he knows I am against him running, because this is not about Oscar; it's not about him as an individual, it is about the rules you will make and put in place for the sport which will apply to anyone, and not just Oscar. If it was just about Oscar my position would be: 'Absolutely, let him run.'"